Not surprisingly, the U.S. Department of Justice moved quickly Friday to protect Attorney General Eric Holder from criminal prosecution after the House voted to hold him in criminal contempt of Congress Thursday, including 17 Democrats.

In a Friday letter to House Speaker John Boehner, Deputy Attorney General James Cole said the DOJ would not pursue prosecution against Holder, his boss. Cole wrote that the attorney general’s refusal to turn over duly subpoenaed “Fast and Furious” documents “does not constitute a crime.”

“Therefore the department will not bring the congressional contempt citation before a grand jury or take any other action to prosecute the attorney general,” the letter said.

By advancing the criminal contempt resolution the House essentially gave themselves the power to refer the case to U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia who could bring it to a grand jury. However, it was seen by many experts as a [sic] largely a symbolic vote as U.S. Attorney Machen is a subordinate of Holder and President Obama has asserted executive privilege over the Fast and Furious documents the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is after.

This whole situation smells. Who's hiding what and why? Furthermore, it is a slap in the face of the parents of border patrol agent Brian Terry who have simply requested the truth about their son's murder.